Kindergarten & Pre-School

Welcome at the DHPS kindergarten & pre-school

“Children are strong, diversely gifted and powerful. All children have the willingness, ability, curiosity and interest to organise their learning process and to deal with everything they face in their environment.” (Loris Malaguzzi)

Every child has a different personality, individuality, strengths and weaknesses, preferences and tendencies, as well as a different level of development.

We, in the DHPS kindergarten, consider it our task to unconditionally accept and honour the individuality of each child. We provide a stimulating environment for the children where they can gain experience and test their abilities as researcher, inventor, explorer, poet, musician, painter, physicist or mathematician.

From birth, we take your child on this journey and also provide the necessary warmth and protection, so that they can recover in our protective arms from the “hardships” of discovering the world day in and day out.

"As long as the children are young, give them roots, once they have grown older, give them wings" (from India)

The DHPS kindergarten´s medium of instruction is German. Therefore we only speak German with the curious little learners – starting in the toddler group up to their enrolment in pre-school.

Information on the DHPS kindergarten and Pre-school sections:

Kindergarten and pre-school fees

We will gladly assist you with questions or on a site inspection or with an introductory session.

Please do not hesitate to contact us - we look forward to meet you.

Your contact person(s)

Kathrin Lehnardt

Kindergartenleitung - Head of Kindergarten

Tel: +264 (0)61 373 106

k.lehnardt@dhps-windhoek.com

Jenni Mühr

Vorschulleitung - Head of Pre-school

Tel: +264 (0)61 373 144

vs@dhps-windhoek.com

Kindergarten (U3)

Who are we:

The toddler group consists of four groups: The "Wölkchen" group welcomes babies as from 3 months of age. In the "Sterne" group kids up to 2 years are lovingly cared for. Our children up to 3 years of age are divided into two groups respectively: the "Sonnen" and the "Mond" group.

Highlights and special features:

We love to learn, play, sing, laugh and party together.

Highlights of events in the under 3-section of the DHPS kindergarten are the get-to-know-each-other function, the Easter celebrations at the beginning of the year and Open Days.
During the cold Namibian winter months we have a light walk, while at the end of the year a Christmas function naturally will be provided for.

Quote by a parent:

“The medals, which our children bring home from the holiday programs, should in fact be awarded to the educators. While other kindergartens close for weeks, our children can continue to visit the kindergarten - where a special program is offered by committed educators. Thank you!”
-Stefanie Cowly, Mother of kids in the “Wölkchen” and “Sonnen” groups.

Kindergarten (O3)

Who are we:

The over 3 section (O3) of the DHPS kindergarten consists of 4 groups, where children of the same age play, work, discover and learn.

Our "small ones", the 3-4 year olds, are divided into the "Robben" and "Pinguin" groups.
Also our "big ones", the 4-5 year olds, can feel comfortable in the "Delfin" and in the "Hai" groups.

In the O-3 section, our educational specialists accompany the children for two years in order to build the best possible trusting relationship.

A few quotes by our children:

What is a kindergarten?

"A place to play. With a best friend. You can play outside and you can have a “morning circle” where you sing songs." (DHPS-KiGa learner, 4 years)

"A place with toys and a playground, where kids can go." (DHPS-KiGa learner, 4 years)

"Where small kids go to school, they play and learn there." (DHPS-KiGa learner, 5 years)

Pre-School

Who we are:

Our pre-school is a place of good spirits. This is necessary for the children’s inherent urge to learn. They can process what they have learned better, if they associate it with something positive like a beautiful moment, a special experience or a successful trip. And with us, children can learn a lot:

From socio-emotional behavior, fine- and gross motor skills to the most diverse areas of perception, important for their phonological awareness, which again has to be well-trained to provide children with the skills which enable them to learn to read and write in Grade 1.

In short, we offer a holistic way of thinking to the child and work with a setting-oriented approach.

Our Team:

Our team is as diverse as the pre-school itself - everyone has a different cultural, religious or personal background. This involves a lot of potential and we are matching role models for our kids - since they all are also different!

Our offer:

We organize our weeks in a wide-ranging way - whether motor-skills promotion, external activities (e.g. karate, swimming, Olympic kids; fee-based) or a variety of extra-mural activities.

Our in-house language support team visits the pre-school groups on a daily basis and takes up topics from our learners´ living environment. Additional language support will be offered either in small group or with the entire class.

Latest news:

Bird stations for our Pre-school

Language Support

Language is the key

To open up the child’s world, bring him or her into contact with other people and letting them gain knowledge, linguistic competence is vital for future life. Therefore, language is a key issue for us. We see the ability to master a wide variety of languages as an enrichment.

Through the language support programme in the kindergarten and the pre-school, we help children who need assistance in learning and speaking the German language. This offer is primarily aimed at children, whose home language is not German and where German is the second- or third language. This language support is a multi-year programme that runs well into the primary section, so that children who choose to follow the German stream are adequately supported.

Who we are:

A varied team of young and experienced professionals, committed teachers and motivated interns, provide speech support to children.
Last but not least, Molly the zebra-mascot of speech, is used as a language support tool in the kindergarten while mascot Tom helps the pre-school children to master German in a playful fashion.

Special features:

Speech support and enhancement classes are offered for children from 3 to 10 years free of charge.

Due to the school closure and to prevent the spread of the corona pandemic, our DHPS kindergarten offers some distance learning too.
From 1 February 2021 we welcomed our little kindergarten learners on campus again!

Here we will provide you with material, information, insights and ideas to sing and craft:

Distance Learning Review:
U2 Material: 18 - 29 January 2021

O2 Material: 18 - 29 January 2021

Weekly plan

General Material:

Teddy bear rhyme

The fire brigade

Morning circle: Halli Hallo!

Finger play: We´re buying fruit

Fruit & vegetables

Welcome to our morning circle

A story bag: The little hungry caterpillar

Singing with our kindergarten teachers: Der Kopf, der wackelt hin und her (German)

Exercising with our kindergarten teachers: Touch your feet

Dirt Experiment

"Arm hoch - hatschi!": Hygiene & how to sneeze properly

A story bag

Review on our topic "The 5 senses"

Colour Hide & Seek

A little poem in times of runny noses

Good morning song: Who are you?

"Häschen in der Grube" - Easter game (see text here)

Dancing with our kindergarten teachers: "Körperteil-Blues"

In these very special times, we would like to suggest some ideas for the time when the school is closed so that your children can be kept busy with pre-school activities.

As a pre-school, we attach great importance to the development of your child.
For this reason, we are sending you materials and links to ensure that your children do not completely forget about the pre-school in the coming weeks. We are counting on your cooperation in this regard so that all pre-schoolers receive the best possible preparation under these circumstances.

Tips & links on distance learning

Our current topics: 18 - 25 January 2021

This is what our Morning Circles look like these days...

Insight into our virtual class rooms...

A song on the days of the week

Video on the days of the week

Video on the Corona topic & experiment idea on washing your hands

Experiment result: Washing your hands

Song: Body hygiene

In this new, unusual and somewhat challenging circumstance, our Language Support Team will provide you here with useful ideas, materials and videos, that will help your child’s language development, whilst at home.

Your child’s continuous exposure to the German language is important. Therefore, please find a list of direct links to German children's books read aloud, songs and TV series below.

Consistently speaking to your child in your mother tongue supports their overall learning and development skills, when attaining a second language, too.

Furthermore, our Language Support Team will be video recording short language support classes for your child to watch and once again, in your mother tongue you can explore what was seen and heard.

Lastly, we would like to thank you. Your support and cooperation during these challenging times is incredibly appreciated and valued. We strongly believe, together we can continue to help your child’s learning and development with their second language, and make the best of this situation.